The ‘Boys from Syracuse’ Sweet Watertown Open

The ‘Boys from Syracuse’ Sweep Watertown Open by Don Klug

Pictured: Viktor Levine and Ramon Madrid fought to a bishops of opposite color draw in round three…

Syracuse area expert chess player Viktor Levine and a contingent of Syracuse players swept the 2017 Watertown Open Chess Tournament by finishing first through third, held May 6^th at the American Red Cross in Watertown, NY. It was no surprise that first place went to Mr. Levine, rated 2161, who scored +3-0=1. Nor was it wasn’t surprising when Mr. Levine was held to a bishops of opposite color draw by traveling player Ramon Madrid (1894) in round 3. Nor was it surprising that Mr. Madrid missed his shot at a first place tie when held to a 4th round draw by local player Don Klug. Fourth rounds can be taxing!

The real surprise and hidden story of this annual North Country tournament was the tied second place finish by unrated Syracuse area player Roger Weiskopff, with his score of +3-1. Mr. Weiskopff, recovered nicely from a first round loss to Bob Kratzat with wins over fellow Syracuse player Jason Pauldine and local player Steve Wood. His third round win came with just 15 seconds left on his clock. Still, this wasn’t the story of the day.

The hidden story came in round four. Fourth round games in one day tournaments are always a testament to a player’s stamina and determination. Mr. Weiskopff’s ‘gritty’ performance rating of USCF 1794 was fueled by his upset win over local defending 2016 Open Champion Adolfo Prieto. The game follows.

Prieto,Adolfo (1906) – Weiskopff,Roger (Unrated) [A65]
2017 Watertown Open (4), May 6.2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.e4 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.f3 Bg7 8.Nge2 Nh5 9.Be3 Bd7 10.g4 Nf6 11.Ng3 Qa5 12.Qd2 [12.Qb3 …is more active.] 12…Na6 13.h4 h5 14.g5 Ng8 15.Rc1 [15.Bf4, White could attack the backward ‘d’ pawn. Attacking with 15.Nb5 would work well too.] 15…Ne7 16.Nb5 Qxd2+ 17.Bxd2 Nc8 18.Bc3 0–0 19.a3 Re8 20.Kf2 Re7 21.Rg1 [This seems a waste of time.The Bishop invasion 21.Bf6 would restrict Black greatly.] 21…Bxb5 22.Bxb5 Nc7 23.Be2 b5 24.f4 Bxc3 25.Rxc3 Nb6 26.Bf3 Rae8 27.f5? [Fritz suggests 27.Rd1 Rd8 28.e5 and Black cannot afford to take the ‘e’ pawn.] 27…Na4 […this position is made for Knights to invade.] 28.Rc2 c4 29.f6 Rd7 30.Ne2 Na6 31.Nd4 Rb7 32.Nc6 N6c5 33.Ne7+ [33.Ke3] 33…Kh7 34.Ke3 Nd3 35.b3?? […blundering under the pressure of the invading knights. The alternative 35.Rb1 Nac5 36.Be2 Ne5 37. Kf4 a5, and white holds on.] 35…cxb3 36.Rc6 Ne5 37.Rc8?? [37.Bd1 b2 38.Bc2 …stopping the pawn, but White is still lost.] 37…Rbxe7 [and the unrated Mr. Weiskopff finishes his first tournament at +3–1=0 with a USCF rating of 1794.] 0–1